


When It Gets Too Much

by Little_red_2000



Series: Reds 25 Days of Christmas [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: And It's Not All Sad, But there is fluff, Christmas, It's More The Journey, JUST, M/M, Some Fluff, Than The Destination, The Author Regrets Everything, a lot of it, but not a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 13:28:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8753392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_red_2000/pseuds/Little_red_2000
Summary: Stiles can't take life in Beacon Hills anymore so he set out to find Derek. By the time he reaches the man it's Christmas and maybe things will be better now.Sucky summary, I know, but the stories good.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Day 4!! I'm not sure what this is, or how it ended up 1500 words of sadness but it' not too sad, I hope, for the Christmas spirit.
> 
> This kinda just popped into my head and I had to write it and then when I got to the end it fit the bill and it became a Christmas fic.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Comments and kudos are love and appreciated!
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Little red<3

Traveling on the road is hard. Sometimes you forget little things and sometimes those things aren’t so little.

 

You can forget your toothbrush at the last hotel you were at and have to buy a new one the next time you stop. You could forget to eat lunch or breakfast or even sometimes dinner because you’re so focused on driving and getting to your destination.

 

Or you could forget to fill up your gas tank and be stranded in the middle of nowhere and have to walk ten miles to the nearest gas station and get ogled and groped by a perverted cashier while getting the gas. You could forget to check into a motel and drive for long periods of time before you remeber you need sleep and fall asleep at the wheel. 

 

All of these things have happened to Stiles on his journey.

 

He’d set off in june, leaving Beacon Hills and all it’s inhabitants behind. That’s just what you do when you can’t take anymore, when you’re so tired that you have to drag yourself out of bed, when everything that you cared for, fought for, bled for, no longer existed. 

 

His dad died in an Omega raid, they’d been setting up the raid for days, weeks, preparing and getting everything planned down to the Tee. They’d done it a thousand times before, but this Omega was different, this Omega was an alpha. The difference between a regular omega and an Alpha Omega was that one was scared and looking for pack and the other was vengeful and feral.

 

They’d prepped all day long before going in, his dad refusing to be left out because ‘If you’re going in there, Stiles, then damn well I can too,” No matter how much Stiles protested saying ‘It’s different, dad, I’m younger, more experienced and I put the plan together,” his father wouldn’t budge.

 

It was supposed to be a simple in and out, get the Omega down and then Chris would take it from there, the old hunter having yet to kick the bucket. Instead the mission had went south fast and Stiles had come out an orphan.

 

Scott, Lydia and Malia had all tried comforting him in his time of need and although he’d greatly appreciated their sentiment it didn’t help not one bit. He been depressed for a long time, going out and killing everything he could, every bad thing he could, for a long time until everything just became numb. There was nothing.

 

He’d tried to be there for Scott, Lydia and Malia and the rest of the ragtag team of misfits Scott has picked up along their way but he just couldn’t. How can you be expected to hold everyone together when you can’t even do it for yourself?

 

He was slowly slipping away and he’d decided it was best for him to just leave instead of dragging the whole pack down with him. Scott had been understanding, knowing that Stiles needed to get away, he’d suggested college but they both knew it was already too late for that, Them both being on the edge of twenty five and never even applying to colleges because they were too worried about protecting Beacon Hills.

 

Lydia had been upset but she’d soon reasoned that she would do the same if she’d gone through what he had, she still had both her parents and she said she couldn’t fathom even losing one of them, let alone both. They’d parted ways, him having to agree to stay safe and call her as much as he could.

 

Malia had been pissed, to say the least. She’d ranted about how when they were teenagers he’d always wanted them to stay together and now, here he was, leaving them all. She’d finally gotten the hang of human living, not having any outburst in months, it had taken her a long time to get reaccustomed to human living from spending so much time as a coyote but she’d done it and he was leaving her and although Stiles felt horrible for leaving her, he knew he had to or he’d one day just drag her down with him.

 

He was a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode if he hadn’t gotten out of Beacon Hills.

 

The youngers members of the pack had taken the news lightly, wishing him the best and making him promise to call and keep them updated on his travelings and where would be good places to visit if any of them ever had the chance.

 

He’d felt free when he’d passed the ‘Now Leaving Beacon Hills’ sign, he’d felt a little of the weight on his shoulders lift and he’d rejoiced at the feeling. The farther he got, the lighter he felt and soon he was cruising down the highway, listening to whatever the radio played, singing along whether he knew the words or not.

 

He’d been just fine, almost forgetting his troubles as he’d driven. All good things must come to an end though, because soon, he’d had to stop at a motel for sleep and he was plagued with nightmares and woke up screaming, which in turn woke his neighbors who had ratted on him to the clerk who then kicked him out.

 

He’d made she to ask the clerks at every hotel he slept in just how soundproof the rooms were, getting odd looks from some and mischievous from others. Soon he’d just started sleeping in his car.

 

The worst thing though, about being on the road is that you lose track of time.

 

He hadn’t noticed how much time he’d lost until he finally, after so much time searching, pulled up to his destination.

 

He’d looked at his phone, something he doesn’t do all to often unless it’s to send an update to the pack, who seem to be doing great without him, it’s two O’clock in the afternoon, the sun is covered by clouds and the air outside is cold and crisp as he steps out of his jeep.

 

He’s somewhere in the mountains between Wyoming and Idaho, it had taken him a long time to get here, having to trace any and everywhere just to find a single shred of anything.

 

He goes and knocks on the door of the large cabin, looking more like a mansion instead of a cabin, and is greeted by a familiar face but aged with time.

 

“Hello Derek, you’re a hard man to find.” He breathes as the man shuffles him inside.

 

The cabin is well lived in, putting off an air of home and safety, two things Stiles hasn’t felt since his father died.

 

“Stiles,” Derek breathes, tone taking on one of awe and bewilderment, “It’s great to see you, you change so much.”

 

“Time does that to you,” Stiles says wryly, locking eyes with Derek.

 

The cabin doesn’t signal one that has more than one person living here, no matter the huge size, there’s only a single coffee mug on the living table, a couch that doesn’t look used very often but a recliner that looks like it’s been favored for a while. The cabin has no touch of other people but is set for two, meaning to Stiles that Derek lives alone.

 

“Welcome to my home, I’m glad you’re here,” Derek says as he shuffles them into the living room. Derek looks the same as Stiles remembers just with more facial hair, making him look like a lumberjack, and wrinkles under his eyes, with just a touch of grey hair in his beard. He looks good, time treated him well and maybe it’s because Derek doesn’t look tense like Stiles always remembered him being but he looks amazing and Stiles doesn’t care why.

 

“Me too,” Stiles replies honestly.

 

He’s smacked in the face with just how much time has actually passed when Derek points up at the mistletoe that’s randomly placed in the middle of the living room hanging off of the ceiling fan.

 

“Merry Christmas,” Derek says, smile reaching all the way to his eyes, making Stiles’ breath catch like it did before Derek had left Beacon Hills.

 

Derek’s moving in closer and Stiles moves himself closer too, wanting to kiss the man that he’s loved for years.

 

The promise that he’d made Derek before the man had left was that Stiles would find him when things got to be too much and although he’d wanted to find the man sooner he couldn’t bring himself to leave Scott and the others, but as Derek’s lips collide with his, warm, wet and inviting he curses himself for not leaving sooner.

 

When they pull back they smile at each other breathless and it’s the first real smile that Stiles has had in a long time.

 

“Merry Christmas to you too.”


End file.
